Adorably Patriotic 2-Year-Old Shakes Hands With US Troops in Video
His mom captured the whole interaction on her phone.
— -- The Internet can't get enough of one toddler's unexpected show of respect to U.S. military officers when his father's basketball team was greeted by the troops.
Even though it was hours after bedtime, the little boy, named Sawyer, "...was so excited to be out there," his mom, Jocelyn Frederick, told ABC News.
Sawyer's father is an assistant coach for the University of North Carolina men's basketball team, and Sawyer was traveling with the rest of his family and the team to Houston for the team's Final Four game. The moment that went viral happened when the team was greeted on the tarmac by members of the U.S. military.
"No one expected the amount of soldiers, tanks, jets, helicopters," she added. "It was overwhelming and so beautiful."
After Sawyer saw his older siblings shaking hands with uniformed troops holding American flags, he decided to get in on the fun, going down the line to greet each soldier.
"You can't see his face, but he was so happy," said Frederick, "and [the soldiers] were so happy too."
Frederick, whose father and grandfather served in the military, was so touched by Sawyer's display of respect toward the troops that she started filming the interaction on her phone. Her brother-in-law Chris posted the video on YouTube a week later, and it has since gone viral.